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Can he help them?
The Jets signed Mississippi State safety Brandon Bryant, who went undrafted on Wednesday in the supplemental draft. The announcement was made by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
Stories written about this move point out that the Jets are adding “safety depth.”
Seeing that angle, which is totally understandable, it occurred to me that I disagreed with the premise.
Maybe he can help with their depth down-the-road, but this season, especially early, it’s hard seeing Bryant helping the Jets with safety depth.
Let me explain.
A few points to make here.
When you add a player in the Supplemental Draft in July, so late in the off-season teaching process, they are behind the eight ball when they arrive for training camp. They weren’t around for mini-camps and OTA’s.
So you have a rookie, coming in very late, and missing a ton of teaching and system installation.
Also, keep in mind, that often when players enter the Supplemental Draft there were academic issues. They jump into this available loophole to get into the league in the summer, way after the draft.
NFL.com draft guru Bucky Brooks said, “[There are] questions surrounding his work ethic, discipline and attention to detail after his on-field (blown coverages) and academic struggles.”
So this is another reason they it’s a longshot that Bryant is going to help their defense this year.
If a guy had academic issues at Mississippi State, which isn’t he most difficult school, it’s a lot to expect him to be a quick-study and pick up the Jets’ thick defensive playbook in a crash course during a three-week camp?
If you had blown coverages in college, going into training camp, with no experience in a playbook, it will be very difficult to get the system down.
Look, I’m not looking to be judgmental of the player’s mental acuity. I’m sure he’s more than capable of picking things up, but different guys pick things up faster than others. I can attest to that. I was a very average student at Lynbrook High School and UMass. I wasn’t a quick study. I would eventually get it, but not right out of the shoot.
Think about rookies like Jamal Adams and D’Brickshaw Ferguson – they picked things up very fast.
Not everyone does. In 2016, the Jets rushed rookie inside linebacker Darron Lee into the starting lineup before he was ready, and it showed. How do I know they rushed him? Don’t ask me, ask him.
“I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with the playbook in 2016,” Darron Lee told hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on SiriusXM NFL Radio last summer. “I couldn’t tell you half the terminology. Now I’m much more comfortable.”
You probably shouldn’t put people in the lineup if they “couldn’t tell you half the terminology.”
And Lee got work in the spring after he was drafted. Bryant didn’t.
The Jets are in good shape, barring injury, at safety right now with starters Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, along with backups Doug Middleton, Terrence Brooks and perhaps Kacy Rodgers II.
It’s unlikely Bryant is going to help the Jets this year with safety depth.
Maybe special team’s, but safety will be tough.
He is SO far behind.
July 12, 2018.
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